Nature in Ryde Cemetery – November 2008
The forecast was good so Diana and I agreed to meet up on a mid November afternoon to do our monthly cemetery walk.
The season is definitely on the change from autumn to winter. A lot of the deciduous trees are now looking quite bare and bleak and many of the fallen leaves underfoot are dark and muddy.
Walking along the south side of the cemetery there were many very noisy birds, flocks of pigeons, starlings and crows, which rose from the trees as we passed, circled round and then returned to their roosts.
We did spot one chirpy little lone bluetit eating berries.
Seasonal change has also meant there are very few flying insects. We had only spotted a solitary fat bumble bee until near the end of our walk we saw another and I thought it was probably the same one!
Wild flowers have also become very scarce apart from a few straggling Herb Robert, Hawk’s Beard and Deadly Nightshade.
There were still quite a few clumps of fungi dotted around, similar to last month especially near the Pellhurst Road entrance.
We were particularly impressed by some bright red varieties, some which we mistook at first for fallen berries in the grass.Equally striking were the scatterings of shocking, fluorescent yellow fungi.
Also there was a larger capped variety in this very vibrant red colour:
However our prize for the most spectacular fungi of the month has got to go to the amazing tree stump sculpture we found!
Thinking of exhibits for a modern art gallery we felt the headstone lichen composition could also be a winner!
The light was fading fast and it started to feel rather nippy so we were quite glad there wasn’t too much to report.
Kate MacDonell
15 November 2008
More nature photographs:
The list of plants and insects we find in the cemetery is ever increasing and if, when you visit the cemetery, you should notice anything that would be of interest, please let us know by making contact through the Contact Us page of the website.
Photographs contributed by Diana Wood